Royal Lifestyle Group Claims Historic Place as Arizona's First Black-Owned Proprietary Tobacco Brand Company
Oct 6, 2026
Founder-built Arizona enterprise traces its roots to 2018 through Poker Face®, Royal Flush® and Leaf Cutz®, with a legacy spanning proprietary brands, federal importation and Arizona job creation.
Phoenix, Arizona Oct 5, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - Royal Lifestyle Group, operated by Arizona-based LJL Family Enterprises Inc., is claiming a historic place in the state's tobacco industry as what the company believes to be Arizona's first Black-owned proprietary tobacco brand company.
The claim is based on the company's review of publicly available Arizona business records, federal trademark records, cigar-industry sources and historical Black-owned business information. The distinction is specific to proprietary brand ownership and development, separating Royal Lifestyle Group and its predecessor operations from earlier Black-owned tobacco retailers, cigar lounges and smoke shops in Arizona.
The company's tobacco roots trace back to Taste of Dominican Cigars LLC, an Arizona cigar business established in 2018. That operation became the foundation for proprietary brands including Poker Face® and Royal Flush®, later evolving into the broader multi-brand enterprise now operating as Royal Lifestyle Group.
From the beginning, the company's focus was ownership.
Founder and CEO Lewis J. Lowe IV built and financed the enterprise without venture capital, angel investors or outside equity partners. That remains true today.
"This legacy was built without investors, but it was never built by one person alone," Lowe said. "I did not have outside investors when I started, and I do not have outside investors today. We built the brands, developed the trademarks, created relationships, hired people and built infrastructure through our own effort, our own capital and a tremendous amount of persistence."
Throughout that journey, Lowe has been supported by his wife, Magaly Veras de Lowe, who has worked largely behind the scenes as a critical operational link between the company's manufacturing relationships in the Dominican Republic and its import, distribution and business operations in the United States.
"Magaly has always been a major part of this story, even when she was not the person standing in front of the camera," Lowe said. "She has been the bridge between our manufacturing relationships in the Dominican Republic and what we were building in the United States."
Luxury Legacy Lifestyle
At the center of Royal Lifestyle Group is a philosophy represented by three of its core tobacco brands:
Royal Flush® represents Luxury.
Poker Face® represents Legacy.
Leaf Cutz® represents Lifestyle.
Poker Face® connects directly to the company's earliest cigar history. Federal trademark records document commercial use beginning in 2019, and by 2020 Poker Face Cigars had been independently recognized on a published list of Black-owned cigar companies in the United States. Poker Face stands behind its brand message:
CULTURE OVER EVERYTHING
Based on records reviewed to date, the company believes Poker Face® is Arizona's first Black-owned proprietary federally trademarked cigar brand.
Royal Flush® represents the premium side of the portfolio, centered on craftsmanship, presentation and an elevated cigar experience.
Leaf Cutz® represents the cultural and lifestyle side of Royal Lifestyle Group through its proprietary pre-cut natural-leaf wrap line and its brand message:
WE NOT CUT THE SAME
"Those three brands tell the story of the company," Lowe said. "Royal Flush® is the Luxury. Poker Face® is the Legacy. Leaf Cutz® is the Lifestyle. Together, they explain what Royal Lifestyle Group was created to become."
From Brand Ownership to Federal Tobacco Importation
The company's development eventually moved beyond proprietary brand creation and distribution.
LJL Family Enterprises Inc. operated its tobacco-import business under the trade name Blacklist Tobacco Imports.
On April 18, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau issued LJL Family Enterprises Inc., then doing business as Blacklist Tobacco Imports, federal authorization to operate as an Importer of Tobacco Products and an Importer of Processed Tobacco.
That authorization marked another stage in the company's growth and expanded its role deeper into the tobacco supply chain.
The Dominican-U.S. relationship was central to that progression, with Magaly Veras de Lowe helping maintain manufacturing relationships and coordination in the Dominican Republic while the Arizona business developed its import and distribution capabilities in the United States.
Based on historical research conducted to date, the company believes LJL Family Enterprises Inc. was among Arizona's earliest Black-owned federally permitted tobacco importers.
Because federal tobacco permit records do not classify permit holders by race or ethnicity, that distinction is based on the company's review of public records and industry information rather than an official TTB racial-ownership designation.
Built Without Outside Investors
Royal Lifestyle Group's history is also a story of independent ownership.
From Taste of Dominican Cigars through the development of Poker Face®, Royal Flush®, Leaf Cutz® and the broader Royal Lifestyle Group portfolio, the company was built without outside equity investors.
The business did not rely on venture capital or outside ownership to establish its brands, build distribution, create intellectual property or develop its infrastructure.
"We did not give away ownership to build the foundation," Lowe said. "We carried the risk ourselves and built the company step by step. What exists today came from years of persistence, reinvestment and believing the brands could become something larger."
For Lowe, that ownership is inseparable from the company's focus on legacy.
"You cannot talk about legacy without talking about ownership," Lowe said. "The goal is not simply to say that I built a company. The goal is to create something the next generation can inherit, understand and continue growing."
Creating Arizona Jobs and Economic Activity
Royal Lifestyle Group's Arizona impact has extended beyond trademarks and products.
Through its businesses, the company has hired and paid Arizona employees and contractors while purchasing services related to sales, marketing, logistics, printing, distribution, advertising, events and other business needs.
Those activities have contributed to Arizona's economy through payroll, employment, local purchasing and business investment.
"We hired people in Arizona and paid people in Arizona," Lowe said. "We also spent money with businesses that helped us operate, market, distribute and grow. Legacy is not only about what the owner keeps. It is also about the opportunities the business creates for other people."
The company does not assign a specific dollar amount to its contribution to Arizona gross domestic product without a formal economic-impact study, but its employment, payroll, purchasing and business operations represent participation in the state's economic output.
A Family Enterprise Built for the Next Generation
Royal Lifestyle Group's portfolio now includes:
- Royal Flush® -- Luxury
- Poker Face® -- Legacy
- Leaf Cutz® -- Lifestyle
- Las Caobas® -- Premium Coffee
The company's long-term strategy is centered on ownership of intellectual property, trademarks, distribution relationships, manufacturing relationships and recognizable consumer brandsthat can continue creating value across generations.
The addition of Las Caobas® extends the family enterprise beyond tobacco while strengthening its connection to Dominican products, heritage and culture.
About Royal Lifestyle Group
Royal Lifestyle Group is operated by LJL Family Enterprises Inc., an Arizona-based, founder-owned consumer-products company focused on developing, owning and growing proprietary brands.
With tobacco-industry roots dating to 2018, the company's history includes proprietary cigar-brand development, federal trademark ownership, cigar distribution, international manufacturing relationships, wholesale operations, federally authorized tobacco importation, Arizona employment and business investment.
The company was built without outside equity investors and remains independently owned.
Its development has been supported by the partnership of Lewis J. Lowe IV and Magaly Veras de Lowe, whose respective roles have helped connect Arizona operations with manufacturing relationships in the Dominican Republic.
LUXURY LEGACY LIFESTYLE
Royal Flush® represents Luxury.
Poker Face® represents Legacy.
Leaf Cutz® represents Lifestyle.
Media Contact:
Royal Lifestyle Group
Prescott, Arizona
Phone: 1 (888) 218-0018
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @royallifestylegroup https://www.instagram.com/royallifestylegroup
Facebook: @royallifestylegroupusa https://www.facebook.com/royallifestylegroupusa
Website: www.royallifestylegroup.com
Media Contact
Royal Lifestyle Group
(888)218-0018
637 W. Hillside Ave. Unit C5
Source :Royal Lifestyle Group
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.
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